The Only Way Out
by Elliewelly1
Summary: "Sitting on the floor of Gene's office, the only place in CID that she could find peace and quiet because the man himself was in a meeting with the super, she pulled her gun from her waistband." - Oneshot. Galex. Set after S1.


_**The Only Way Out**_

**A/N: Sadly, I don't own Ashes To Ashes. Just an overactive imagination, and a Penname of Elliewelly1. **

"**Your fingers on the trigger, Pull it.  
I know you want the suffering to end."  
- Happier, A Fine Frenzy**

All this time, she had been fighting.

She had been fighting to get back home. To 2008. She had been fighting to stay alive and not get lost in this world. She had been fighting to get back home to her daughter Molly, and blow out the candles. Yes, she needed to blow out the candles, just like she'd promised… and she thought that, maybe, by saving her parents, Tim and Caroline Price, that she would be able to get back home. It was supposed to be her way out of this world and her way back home, her way back to Molly. But only, she hadn't been able to save them, had she? She'd only been able to simply sit by and watch it happen all over again. Watch her parents die. Watch her younger self just about escape- and held by Gene Hunt. When, all this time, she had thought it was Evan, her godfather. But that couldn't be right. Gene Hunt was a construct of her imagination, just like he had been with Sam. Her mind had simply created him because she had been studying the Sam Tyler case, that was all… wasn't it? This world couldn't be real! There was no way that she could have travelled back in time, she was shot, she didn't turn into some Doctor Who!

But she still wasn't back home. In 2008. With Molly. She was stuck here. In 1980-bloody-one. With Gene Hunt. She had fought so hard to get back home, yet she was still stuck here. In this hell-hole. Okay, it wasn't all that bad, the people here… Shaz… Chris… Ray… Gene Hunt… well, they weren't all that bad. If- _when, _she got back, she would miss them. A whole lot. They were just so… _real. _But they weren't. She had to remind herself about that. None of them were real. _Especially _not Gene Hunt… her constant here.

But Gene was unlike anything she had ever imagined. How was it possible for him to be a construct? He was a misogynistic, stubborn, violent brute. But he was a good copper. He was totally unpredictable and, as stubborn as he could be, he had saved her life- no, her life _here- _when she had been in Chas Cale's meat freezer, and he had comforted her when they were stuck together in Edgehampton Vault. He was the most violent man she had ever known but he only did it to catch the 'scum'; and his sarcastic remarks? Well, who could think of them besides the man himself?

_Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. You've fallen for Gene __**bloody **__Hunt._

Alex gritted her teeth and punched the floor of Gene's office of which she was sat upon. How could she have been so stupid? She had been happy on her own- no, she wasn't on her own. She had Molly. But she had been happy like that, in that lifestyle. She didn't need anyone! Least of all Gene Hunt! Of any of the constructs she could've fallen for, it had to be him, didn't it? But he was just a construct, nothing more, this was all just a dream, they weren't real…

She just had to wake up.

So she had messed up her only- well what she had thought was her only at the time- exit route. And she had thought she had been stuck here. But then that brilliant idea had come to her. Sitting on the floor of Gene's office, the only place in CID that she could find peace and quiet because the man himself was in a meeting with the super, she pulled her gun from her waistband.

Turning the gun over in her hands, some reason liking the cold metal on her soft skin, she sat deep in thought. Surely, if she had been shot in 2008 and ended up here, then if she was shot here, she would end up back in 2008? It was simple logic. Right?

Either way, she wasn't afraid to take her 'life' here, this life wasn't real- she was simply in a coma in 2008, right?

No, what scared her was… was the fact that she was actually afraid to leave this place. Would the world here carry on? But it was all a big dream, so it wouldn't, would it? But how could It not exist? How could it all just disappear? It just couldn't happen. Could it? But the people here, how could they just disappear like that? They were all so _real, _no matter how much she tried to deny it to herself. She would miss them. So, so much. And, despite herself, she knew she would miss Gene the most. Gene Hunt, her Guv, the Manc Lion…

Taking a deep breath she forced herself to stop thinking about Gene Hunt and how it was all going to work. It was simple: Shot in 2008, end up here. Shot here, end up in 2008. She just had to do it. She could do it. This was just a dream.

At least, that was what she told herself.

A loud bang resonated in the air of CID, and Alex looked up, startled, seeing Gene heading towards his office. She panicked. What was she going to do? This was not how she had planned it to go at all. She had figured that she would find a private place, grab her gun and pull the trigger. But everything was much more complex than that; all because of her thinking about… Well, Gene Hunt, mainly.

He didn't notice her at first, he slammed his door behind him in a huff, threw his black coat on the chair and then placed two hands on his desk, leaning over slightly. Thinking. Then he'd taken a deep breath and turned to go and make himself a cuppa, but he noticed Alex sitting with her arms hugging her knees in the corner of his office. She shielded the gun from his view quickly. He frowned.

"Bolls?" He questioned, confused.

Alex met his gaze sadly. Her face was tired, she looked completely exhausted. She was hunched over in such a sad way, too. Her eyes were empty and her breathing was shallow. Gene found himself worrying about her, no matter how much he'd told himself that she was just his mouthy DI who he was not here to baby-sit. He frowned and took a step forwards, "Bolls?" He repeated.

Alex blinked slowly, "I want to go home, Gene." She told him hoarsely. _Do not cry, you will not cry! _She told herself… _even though this is goodbye to Gene Hunt, _a tiny voice whispered in the back of her head.

Gene misinterpreted the statement, and grabbed his keys from his pocket, tossing them up in the air, "C'mon, I'll drop yer off if yer that desperate."

Alex felt a small smile drift to her lips at Gene's innocence. Gene Hunt; innocent? There was something she thought she would never hear- but it was true. For now, anyway.

"No, not my flat." She told him, and noticed his blank expression, "I want to go _home- _to my daughter, Gene."

Gene was a little surprised that she had addressed him by his name, but didn't argue. Instead he hesitantly took a step forwards, still too far away to stop her from doing anything though, and she took a sharp intake of breath. Gene frowned, thinking that he had done something wrong by approaching her. But, even though it was a poof thing to do, Gene really just wanted to wind his arms around her and comfort her. Be her shoulder to cry on sort of thing.

"Where's she then, Bolly? Yer always on about getting 'ome, where _is _yer 'ome?" Gene felt a little sad that she wanted to be somewhere else. But he tried to tell himself it was nothing personal, she was a mother, she wanted to get back to her daughter.

Alex's face crumpled up at the mention of her daughter, and she was finding it hard to fight the tears that were battling their way into her eyes. She looked away from Gene, horrified that one solitary tear was tricking down her cheek.

Gene started. Alex very rarely cried. She babbled on and on endlessly about getting home and back to where she belonged, back to her daughter, but she had never cried about it. Not in front of him, anyway. She thought that Alex Drake was a strong, mouthy woman. But here she was, looking totally defeated, sitting in the corner of his office, with a tear rolling down her face.

"Bolls?" He asked.

Taking a shaky breath, Alex closed her eyes momentarily, and then stood to her feet, turning to face Gene fully. His eyes didn't move from her face, so he didn't see the gun sitting snugly in her left hand, until she moved her shaky hand towards her face, and his eyes glanced to her hand, and then back to her exhausted face. Then his eyes bulged and he did a double take at her hand, suddenly realising the enormity of the situation.

"Bolly…" He whispered, eyeing the gun suspiciously.

"It's The Only Way Out, Gene."

"No, no Bolly, c'mon now, don't be daft," He started to step forwards but immediately drew his foot back when Alex's breath caught and she raised the gun more. "Bolly…" He mumbled.

Another tear leaked from Alex's eyes, quickly followed by another, like it was a race. Hurriedly, she wiped them away with the sleeve of her white leather jacket she was wearing. Taking a glance out of Gene's office, she saw Shaz sitting up straight, looking startled, hands paused mid-air. But none of the others had realised. Yet. They were detectives. Then again, some of them wouldn't have had the slightest inkling anything had happened unless her dead body was thrown in their faces. Startled by her morbid thoughts, Alex quickly looked away from Shaz's pleading eyes.

"You know Gene," Alex lowered the gun, smoothing a thumb along it, "I'm a trained psychologist. I'm trained to get into the human mind, I'm trained to negotiate, get people out of hostage decisions, all things like that… yet, I can't help myself." Alex laughed bitterly, looking disgusted with herself.

"Come on love," Gene said softly, "Yer've got us 'ere fer yer. Just put the gun down, Bolly."

Even at the end, he was still calling her by her nickname, Bolly. Alex felt a small smile appear on her lips, for only a second, before it disappeared again.

"No, Gene, I need to get back home." Alex told him, meeting his eyes.

Gene tried to reign his emotions in, but she could see the fear on his face. Gene held out a hand, "Yer don't really want to do this, do yer, Bolly?"

_God damn you Gene Hunt, _she thought. "I-I just want to get to my little Molls, Gene, my baby."

Gene nodded, and then he remembered some of Alex's negotiating techniques. For once, he was glad that she was a psychiatrist- or psychologist, whichever one it was. "Tell me about her, Bolls, tell me about Little-Bolly."

Alex smirked, "Little-Bolly?"

Gene saw part of the Alex he knew in her eyes, for a moment there was a fleeting sense of hope that ran threw him. He decided to try and get more of the Alex back. "Yeah, she's a little you, bolls. Hey, her name even rhymes with yer own. Bolls. Molls." Gene smirked.

Alex smiled, but it was strained, and tilted her head to the side, "You really are a wonder, Gene Hunt."

Gene winked, "That's the Gene-Genie for yer."

Alex nodded mutely, and then looked down. Slowly, her trembling left hand lifted again, pointing the gun at herself. She stared at it: Could she do it? Could she pull the trigger? She just needed to get back to Molly. She didn't want this world. She wanted the old world, back with Molly. But then her hazel eyes looked up and caught Gene's steely blue eyes. She saw the panic in his eyes. She knew he was scared. For her. Alex blinked. She wanted- needed- Gene Hunt, too. She couldn't be in two places at once, though. Her daughter needed her. More than Gene needed her- Oh Gene didn't need her at all, for gods sake, what would he ever see in her?

Gene, however, was feeling exactly the opposite to what she thought. He was struggling not to shake with fear. His Alex, his Bolly, was standing before him looking completely and utterly defeated with a gun aimed at her head. He didn't have a clue how to stop her. And he needed to stop her. He needed her, and her not-so-useless psychology, her annoying habits, her nags. He needed her for the arguments, for someone to drink with in Luigi's, someone to laugh with. He needed her so desperately even though he had always forced that thought away, not admitting it. But he needed her.

She had once asked him if he ever got lonely, and, the truth was, he did. The wife had left him, Sam was gone, and his only friends were the twonks who he dared called detectives. But Chris was wrapped up in Shaz and Ray was busy pulling birds. He hadn't anyone there for him when they had first come down here. But then she had come barging into his life and, well, he wasn't so lonely anymore. Not when she was around, anyway. She was there for him- as poofy as that sounded- and he really, really, needed Alex Drake.

Gene was clutching straws, "Molly wouldn't want yer to do this- to take yer own life, would she?"

Alex's breath caught, the way he said it. _Take your own life. _She hadn't thought of it like that. She thought it was all just a dream. She couldn't time travel. She couldn't be here. This wasn't real.

But was it simply that she didn't _want _it to be real? She_ wanted _it to all be a dream?

**-xoxo-**

Outside, Shaz was literally paralysed with fear, seeing her senior officer Alex, who she admired, pointing a gun to her head with a trembling hand. Chris looked up at her, wondering why the noise of her typing had stopped, and caught her looking through to the Guv's office. Instinctively, he followed her gaze, and his breathing stopped for a moment as he saw the Guv negotiating with Ma'am.

"Ray." He whispered.

"What?" Ray asked, looking up from his magazine, and frowning when he saw Chris wasn't looking at him, but at something in Gene's office, completely immobile like Shaz. He sighed and looked into the Guv's office, before dropping his magazine almost immediately, _"Flamin' Nora!"_

**-xoxo-**

Gene stared hopefully at her, noticing her doubtful expression, "C'mon Bolly, no daughter would want her mam to do that."

Alex shook her head, "No, she wouldn't…" But Alex only pressed the gun to her temple with trembling hands, and Gene's eyes widened, "But you don't understand, Gene, you never will!"

"Bolls…" He whispered, holding both hands out, "C'mon Bolls, please, don't do this…"

"Why not?" She spat, "I _need _to do this!" He noted the desperation in her voice.

"But yer don't want to."

Alex's bottom lip wobbled, and her finger tightened around the trigger. Gene didn't bother hiding his emotions anymore. He lost his rough, angry DCI look and Alex could've sworn she saw a tear dance in one of his eyes. Did she really have that big of an effect on him? He had a big effect on her, as much as she hated to admit it.

Alex dodged the question, "Stop trying to talk me round."

Gene swallowed, "I can't just let yer do this, Alex. Yer can't leave us."

"You managed perfectly well before me. You can manage perfectly well without me."

Gene had the look of a goldfish slapped across his face for a moment, before taking a deep breath and saying, "Bolly,_ I _need yer."

Alex swallowed, "What on earth for?"

Gene shrugged, suddenly interested in his shoes, "Bolls yer… yer the biggest fruitcake I've ever known, yer ramble on with yer psycho-bollocks…" He waited for her correct him, but she didn't, "Yer stubborn and yer infuriating and yer the poshest bird ive ever known," Gene shifted on his feet, "But I…" he swallowed.

"Gene?" Alex whispered, lowering the gun slightly.

He cleared his throat and looked up at her, "Well, I, er, truth be told, Bolly, I don't remember how I er… How I ever lived without yer."

Alex lowered the gun slightly more, smiling sadly, "You're Gene Hunt. The Manc Lion. You don't need a 'fruitcake', or a 'posh, mouthy, tart'. You can get through anything."

Gene met her eyes, "No, I- I can't."

"Gene?"

"I really can't… I can't even- Bolls I, oh christ, Bolls I can't live Without yer…" Gene looked back down at his feet.

Gene looked up when he heard the gun clatter to the dirty ground of his office- bloody cleaners had skived again, why did they do that? - and he saw that Alex was, still, crying. But it was a different kind of crying. Not sad. That same- rather sexy- small smile was lingering upon her lips. Her hands were rid of the gun, which lay right beside his desk on the floor, and he lost herself in those large, beautiful hazel eyes.

Suddenly, Alex launched herself at him. She wound her two arms around her neck and knotted her hands in his hair. Gene stared at her questioningly, and Alex flashed him a quick smile, before her lips crashed down upon his own.

Gene stood stunned and completely immobile for a moment, his hands hovering in the air in complete confusion, assessing the situation. He was completely confused. One minute Alex had been rambling on about getting back to her daughter by shooting herself in her head, the next she was launching herself into his arms and attacking his mouth. He wasn't quite sure what to make of the situation.

And then his mouth melted on hers, his hands wrapping around her waist and pulling her closer. It wasn't a passionate, hands-roaming, tongues-duelling kiss. No, it was a soft kiss, a kiss of comfort. The Guv and Ma'am. The Gene-Genie and Bollykecks.

Alex pulled away, smiling slightly, staring deep into his ice-blue eyes. Maybe shooting herself wasn't the way out. Maybe she'd just ruin her chances of getting home. Why not wait and see how long it would take to get home? Let things sort themselves out by herself. And… why not enjoy things while she was here? What was the point of fighting, when fighting got her nowhere?

"I love you, too, Gene." She whispered.

Gene's breath caught. He couldn't believe the turn of events. His expression softened and he said, "Nobody can resist the Gene-Genie, Bolls, not even you."

Alex smiled, "No, I can't."

Maybe she'd stick around for a while, at least.

**-xoxo-**

Outside, the whole of CID smiled as they saw their Guv and Ma'ams embrace. Ma'am was safe now. The Guv had saved her. He would always be there for her. And the Guv and Ma'am would always be there for all of them. Even Ray smiled- Alex may ramble on about nonsense on getting home to her daughter, but she was a brilliant cop, he couldn't deny that.

And he couldn't deny that she was perfect for Gene, either.

**A/N: I promised this ages ago, but it took me ages to write for some reason… Good ol' Gene, eh? Please review! ****(If any of you have YouTube, my username is 'iloveCullens96' :D I feel weird for advertising it; but whatever, I just realised I never said) -xo**


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